Today was a BIG day!
I started off the day with my first bagel (whole grain) with cream cheese in Times Square. I sat on some steps to a theatre and ate, watching the world go by. A good way to start the day. I think what people say about Times Square is true, that it’s full of tourists and to find any locals you need to venture out. I have spoken with locals and tourists alike. Locals seem to think Manhattan is the be all and end all, and tourists think New York is all it is said to be. I have been contemplating if New York is all it is represented as being in films/TV/music, etc. I think it is. You can certainly find all the different elements here, that’s for sure. You just have to know where to look. I only recently discovered that Queens has every single nationality on Earth. Like a big melting pot. It’s incredible.
After breakfast I got on the 7 train to Grand Central and got off to wait for the rest of the class. We then headed to the Sculpture Centre on the edge of Brooklyn. I was very excited to finally get to Brooklyn and would really like to walk the Brooklyn Bridge before I leave. Pretty corny and touristy, but I imagine it has great views of the city. The transport system here is very easy and accessible (unless you’re in a wheelchair or have crutches, etc).
I have mentioned this before, but feel like I need to do so again. I think that the perception of New Yorkers being aggressive and angry is false. I do think they have strong personalities, as though living in a place like this they need to fight for space and attention, but they are generally very nice. I think Aussies get the impression of anger because we are far more laid back and relaxed, and the abrupt and loud nature of New York grates with many people. I can appreciate all cultures, and I definitely appreciate the culture of New York!
Here are my thoughts on THE SCULPTURE CENTRE:
· The broken stars made out of mirror on the ground represent lost and/pr smashed dreams. Perhaps not living up to expectations or not daring to. Once you reach the top, there is nowhere to go but down.
· My first impression of the giant mouth suspended from the ceiling was that it reminded me of Rocky Horror or the Samuel Beckett play Not I. Once we started to discuss it, it became clear that the mouth was representative of the African American “smile for your Master” and oppression faced by those in generations past. Possibly current generations too. I feel that the collective psyche will never fully recover from the slave days. Indeed, I hear nearly every day a joke about black people (made by black people) or a black man threatening someone about staring at him – because he’s black. They perpetuate this image of themselves, caught in a cycle. The lights between the lips act as teeth and as though it is all a show. That the clave can smile and say “yes Master” without actually believing or feeling any sense of belonging. That it is all a show.
· The whole exhibition upstairs is about identity and the idea of performing for the world. Our public image versus our real selves.
· My first impressions of the large figure were that it was a carnival and the “black person” was on show. There was a sense that while they were cloaked in their culture (the grass skirt), it was also their costume. I found it incredibly sad and oppressive as an image. The carnival can entertain but it is also subversive and I think makes sport of minority groups. In this way, it also reminded me of the song from Cabaret about the gorilla (that is actually a Jewish girl), and “if you could only see her as I see her” perhaps people wouldn’t be so cruel and there would be more understanding.
· The trapeze set up that occasionally moved and had a light follow the invisible performer was interesting. It’s a high stakes act and it suggests that following our dreams, ambitions and especially African Americans trying to make something of themselves in such a racist climate is high stakes. The fallen stars underneath this too, also indicate the fragility of life and hopes. Make it or break it.
· One last note about the stars. There are still lights on the walls in the shape of the stars that have fallen and lie on the floor. As though they have left an impression of themselves, never to be forgotten, just ignored.
· The two exhibitions downstairs were not incredibly engaging. It was difficult to hear the audio of the video footage in Ursula Mayer’s work. The words printed on the wall in the other exhibition were interesting and I think I needed more time to view it to really get what it was about and for.
We then had a break for lunch and most people went into a diner nearby, on the way to PS1. I went along, just because I haven’t been in a diner yet. I ordered a root beer. A fairly American drink often ordered on TV shows. I am determined to try everything and learn more about this city and country. Especially, how they portray themselves in media. It is of course a chosen image, chosen by them, so I imagine they try to highlight their best side most of the time...
Here are my thoughts on MoMA PS1:
· The building was once a school, turned into storage, destined for destruction. It was saved and turned into the now MoMA facilitated PS1. It houses both temporary and permanent works. PS1 is a not-for-profit company, so it’s ironic that it is facilitated by MoMA which is a VERY wealthy organisation.
o The September 11 Exhibition:
o The art here is not art that was created about the event, but how the event of September 11 has changed art. Whether it was created before or after the date.
o There is a temporal and special specificity to this art exhibition.
o This exhibition opened on the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
o Only one of the artworks in the whole exhibition was created about the event. The piece is a newspaper cut out of the site with a space where the twin towers once stood. The artist filled the space with a green patch, so that instead of feeling like looking away from the destruction, one could look at it and remember.
o Because of what happened on that day, people have come to look at art differently, whether they intend to or not. There is a change in response to art works, particularly in this exhibition which is only going to enhance the sense of September 11 because of its title. The event has recontextualised the works and partly replaced the original context in which the art works were created.
o The whole exhibition is framed by sound. I will discuss one work in particular soon.
o Amy Clare, an QUT alumni spoke about the exhibition from a curatorial viewpoint, as opposed to directly about the artworks. I think this helped form a holistic vision of the exhibition for me.
o We are victims of our own historical context, predisposed to think about September 11. The collective psyche of the city of Manhattan has forever been altered by the events of that day.
o I found the camera on the stand titled “Images of Bagdad” very sad. It encourages viewers to use their imaginations and draw conclusions. I imagine it houses many horrific images of a war-torn country that has been silenced and its side rarely presented accurately in the media. The power of America.
o I sat and watched the video presentation of JFK’s assignation for a long time. It was really powerful and the use of repetition, sound, light and opposing images were expertly employed. There is an image of a bull being stabbed by multiple spears, but it keeps on walking. It is representative of JFK and the strength of the American people. This also supports the New York community’s strength after the September 11 attacks.
o Janet Cardiff’s piece “The Forty Poet Motet” was beyond belief. That room with the large windows looking over Brooklyn and the city, while listening to the most breathtaking music created by voices was a complete experience. It was meditative and people seemed to know not to speak in that space. Like a church. There was a reverent quality to it. I personally felt very insignificant, but also, in juxtaposition, that what I do matters.
o Walking around the exhibition, I felt very contemplative about life and my place in it.
· OTHER WORKS:
· Clifford Owens Anthology Level 3: This exhibition ruined all the mood I had going from level 2! Very sexual work. I didn’t get much cohesion from it as a work.
· Frances Stark’s work on Level 1 was also provocative and pretty strange. It was a video of animated (lego-like) characters having an online relationship. I feel like it was a comment on the digital age we live in and the change in sexuality, sex and dating because of it.
· The wool pile on the basement level reminded me of a story I once heard about Stanislavsky (the founder of realism acting). The story goes that Stanislavsky told his actors to look in the curtain for a pin. The actors started looking, but he got angry because they were acting looking. He said, that there really is a pin in the curtains and if they didn’t find it, someone would be fired. The actors frantically started searching for the pin. There never was a pin in the curtain, but the lesson was well learned by the actors. There is a difference between doing something and looking like you are doing something. This is realism acting. I find it relates to the wool pit because there is said to be two golden chains hidden in the mess. There are no stakes for looking, no one will be fired if they don’t find it, but the idea remains. Are we really looking? And if we are, what for? How do we know when we find it? Is it worth anything like the gold necklaces? Will it be worth anything emotionally? Needless to say, this artwork made me think!
· The George Kucher works on the first level were overtly sexual and I can only try to make it reasonable by saying that he is commenting on the spectator nature of pornography and the normalisation of “wrong” or “bad” behaviour. I felt dirty and cheapened by this art work and wanted to go back to the music room!
After MoMA PS1 we headed out to find Arturo’s restaurant. On the corner of Housten and Thompson Streets. It was DELICIOUS! I had a glass of moscato, much needed, and the eggplant stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella. Devine. She asked me what I wanted as my side – pasta, salad or vegies. I asked for salad as I really needed the freshness. I can’t believe that past is a side! The plate was HUGE. This pizza here is amazing too. I found a Kocher place down the road from the hostel that makes incredible eggplant pizza.
After dinner I left the group and headed solo out into the night. I knew from driving around with Clinton yesterday that there was a Century 21 somewhere West of Central Park, and north-ish. I got on a train and off at 50 St. I walked in a zig zag north. I found the Times Warner Centre and the Lincoln Centre. Right across the road from the Lincoln Centre on 66th was Century 21!!! I can’t believe I actually found it! I must have walked 20 blocks. But I needed it after dinner.
I did some shopping; thank goodness they didn’t close until 10pm. Thank you Black Friday shopping hours! I eventually came home and am very ready for some sleep J
Night!
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